This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-283138 filed on Sep. 27, 2002 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-292295 filed on Oct. 4, 2002.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for limiting an increase in the inside air temperature of a passenger compartment of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
One previously proposed system for limiting an increase in the inside air temperature of a passenger compartment of a vehicle held in a parked state includes a ventilation fan, which is powered by a solar battery to expel hot air out of the passenger compartment of the vehicle. One such system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-244731.
However, in general, production of electricity from the solar battery is relatively small in comparison to production of electricity from an electric generator driven by a vehicle engine. Thus, the ventilation fan powered by the solar battery cannot efficiently expel the hot air out of the passenger compartment of the parked vehicle.
One calculation result indicates that the exhaust fan powered by the solar battery can reduce the inside air temperature of the passenger compartment only by 8 degrees Celsius at most. Thus, under the blazing sun in the summer where the inside air temperature of the vehicle reaches about 50 degrees Celsius, the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-244731 cannot sufficiently reduce the inside air temperature of the passenger compartment.
Furthermore, according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-244731, only the ventilation of the hot air from the passenger compartment through use of the ventilation fan powered by the solar battery is performed. Thus, due to, for example, radiation heat from interior members, such as seats, an instrument panel, and interior walls (interior trim), each of which has a relatively large thermal capacity, the inside air temperature of the passenger compartment may be increased once again. Thus, an increase in the inside air temperature of the passenger compartment of the parked vehicle cannot be efficiently limited.
The present invention addresses the above disadvantages. Thus, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a novel system for limiting an increase in the inside air temperature of a passenger compartment of a vehicle. It is another objective of the present invention to limit or resist an increase in the inside temperature of the passenger compartment of the vehicle held in a parked state.
To achieve the objective of the present invention, there is provided a system for limiting an increase in the inside air temperature of a passenger compartment of a vehicle. The system includes a solar radiation reducing means and a control means. The solar radiation reducing means is for reducing an amount of solar radiation, which enters the passenger compartment through at least one transparent panel of the vehicle. The control means is for controlling the solar radiation reducing means. When the control means determines that the vehicle is in a parked state, the control means operates the solar radiation reducing means to reduce the amount of solar radiation entered the passenger compartment through the at least one transparent panel.